As Speedy as the Flash
by CQB16
Summary: Barry Allen is alone. He defeated Savitar but lost everything else in the process. Hs friends and family are either dead or have left. He continues as the Flash but it isn't the same anymore. He is full of rage, guilt and anger. Thea Queen moves to Central City for work, can she help Barry balance light and dark? A Barry/Thea romance develops.
1. Chapter 1-Speedy Arrives

**This story takes place after Season 3 of The Flash and Season 5 of Arrow, you will see how I imagined both seasons ending through the character's stories of it. Effectively this is a story is a darker version of the Flash. Barry is struggling to find a balance between light and dark and that's where Thea comes in. I like the Thea character on Arrow but feel the writers waste her a lot and I saw (however little) the chemistry between Barry and Thea during the crossover so wanted to try it out. There will be OC's based strongly on the new Flash comics and there will be appearances of Flash and Arrow characters but the story will mostly be Barry and Thea. It's not set up to be a romance but some will occur as the story goes on. Reviews are most welcome, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer- All the characters are owned by the CW and DC Comics.**

 **Thea 1**

Thea Queen speedily glided off the train lugging her two large luggage cases behind her, after departing the train she paused and look up at the sign which read "Central City Train Station". This was a fresh start for her, this felt right.

"Excuse me miss, do you need some help with any of that luggage?" Said a husky male voice from behind her.

Thea turned to see a well-dressed but skinny dark-haired man around her age gesturing to help her, he had a look she had seen many times, a look of slight awe. She was carrying a large and long bag on her shoulders as well as the two luggage cases.

"No, I'm good thanks. It's all just dresses and shoes anyway, nothing heavy" Replied Thea innocently.

The man nodded and looked slightly disappointed, she had lied of course. Her shoulder bag contained her speedy suit and bow. You know, just in case…

Thea strolled through the station towards the exit, just from glancing around the station it was so clear this city was lighter, brighter and happier than her old home, Star City. She was here to start a new life, after Ollie quit being mayor she was sought after by various political figures to work for them, she chose the Mayor of Central City, to serve as her chief of staff.

It had been a hard decision to leave, but she wanted to go out there and make her own name, at first, she was seen only to get the job of chief of staff because she was Oli's sister. It kinda was similar for her as Speedy.

She had grown to love being a hero, the rush, the feeling of helping people. But she was constantly in Ollie's shadow, she loved him so much and enjoyed being his partner and him training her. But she always had to do it his way, which she could deal with before but now the team was so big she felt she was being wasted and didn't feel needed.

Pulling her thoughts away from her alter-ego Thea exited the station and walked over to the sidewalk and signalled a cab, one came over, the cabbie putting her stuff in his boot and she jumped in.

"Where to Sweetie?" Asked the middle aged smiling Taxi driver.

"Central City Hotel please." Replied Thea, returning the smile.

Thea would stay there for a while until she found a apartment to move into, she hadn't had time to arrange proper accommodation, she had to leave Star City quickly because something Team Arrow related would have come up, giving Oli, Laurel and Felicity time to try change her mind. This was her decision.

"Are you new here sweetie? Moving here, are you? You know you look familiar from somewhere, you famous?" Asked the driver.

"Yeah, moving here from Star City for work. Fresh start, chance to be me. No, not famous really, I'm a political advisor, you might have seen me on TV next to a Mayor or something." Replied Thea.

He nodded, but looked unconvinced at her answer, he continued talking to her, making small talk about the city and how it was different to Star City, he started talking about the Flash and all the weird meta-humans in the city. Thea knew she'd catch up with Barry and rest at some point, she heard something bad had happened with them a few weeks ago, reports said the Flash had killed some criminals, Felicity said it must be wrong but they were so busy with Prometheus to find out what had happened.

After she reached the hotel she checked in and went into her room. She hung everything up, except the Speedy costume. She wasn't sure whether she'd use it while she was here, Barry and his team dealt with crime here. She was here to work and hopefully meet someone, her luck with love hadn't been great over the last few years. Roy and Alex were complete opposites, she had loved them in their own way but now they were both lost to her. She wanted something new, something unknown.

Thea spent the night looking through emails from her new work, where she started tomorrow. After that she went over to look outside her hotel window and wondered what this city had to offer her, for some reason she was sure it would be fantastic.


	2. Chapter 2-Guiltiest man alive

**Barry 1;**

Barry Allen awoke early in his bed in his apartment, this morning when he opened his eyes like every morning for the last few weeks he didn't feel like the fastest man alive, he felt like a failure, like a fraud. Every morning he had to remind himself, he had no friends, family or team here anymore.

He dragged himself out of bed, he went to his window and looked out at the sun rising over Central City, his city. Barry used to get a feeling of hope and happiness looking at that scene but now…

The image flashed in front of him constantly, the image of Iris, his Iris. She looked so full of pain, torment and shock when Savitar ripped a hole in her torso.

It still hurt so much, he felt guilt more than anything else. And he had no one. They had all left, Caitlin in fear, Cisco in hatred, Wally in anger and Joe in disappointment.

Barry began his morning routine, he used to use his powers throughout all of this but not anymore, every time he used his speed he was reminded of what his speed allowed him to do those weeks ago. He only used it when he had to now. Barry put on his clothes and grabbed the badge, the badge which made him grimace when looking at it, the badge of a CCPD detective.

With Joe gone and a new forensic scientist hired the only place Singh offered Barry back at the CCPD was as a detective, Singh thought Barry would be pleased with the promotion but it only made him feel guilt at Joe's absence and he constantly compared himself to his foster father and old friends Eddie and Patty as a detective. But Barry would do it, be a detective, try to help people. As penance.

Barry was also continuing as the Flash, working alone, he had Professor Stein at Star Labs but didn't go there much because of the memories and he didn't have a team to work with anymore.

He decided with him not using Star Labs as much as the Flash he could reinstate it as a science facility, with Professor Stein leaving the firestorm matrix and a young girl taking his with Jax and the legends, Stein was the perfect person to lead Star Labs and with his daughter they had a good team there. He could use the facility and Stein's help as the Flash but hadn't needed to yet. The city had been quiet since he stopped Savitar.

He angrily thought to himself, No Barry. You didn't just stop Savitar. You killed him. In cold blood. Him and his followers. All of them dead, necks snapped, organs burst. Barry had never felt so much rage, he would never forget how he felt in that hour, that hour of blood.

Barry didn't sleep well anymore, he didn't enjoy life like he used to, he did his job as a detective and as the flash and that was it. He felt his phone buzz, he checked it, it was another missed call from Felicity. Her and Oliver had been trying to call him, he couldn't face talking to them, Oliver might understand but he didn't want to see the look in Oliver's eye that he had seen in Joe. Barry knew Oliver always saw him as a symbol of hope and light and even aspired to be like him in that way but now he had proved Oliver wrong.

He understood now, the darkness he saw in Oliver at times, what Oliver had been through made him a killer, a weapon. That is what Barry felt like, he didn't use a gun or a knife to kill Savitar's followers, he used his hands, his body, he was a living weapon. He knew Oliver found a way out of the darkness, he had seen that too but it was always a part of him and Barry knew this would always be a part of him too.

About an hour later Barry arrived at the CCPD and went to his desk, he was on a missing person case at the moment, which he felt quite involved in. He read over the details again and reviewed the case notes he took yesterday, he was quite certain the young girl Kristen was out of the City, he had searched around everywhere using both his speed as the Flash and the tech at Star Labs.

"Detective Allen, in here please" Shouted his boss, Captain Singh.

Barry got up and walked into the captain's office, he noticed Singh had all the notes on Kristen White on his desk, he looked worried and anxious.

"Allen, time has passed, the Flash has had no luck. Neither have you it seems. We need to make it public, the Mayor herself wants to make the statement with the parents. Seems a bit too official for me but it was the idea of the Mayor's new chief of staff, makes more people pay attention when the mayor makes the message apparently. You need to go over to City Hall and brief the mayor and Kristen's parents. Can you do that?" Singh asked.

"Of course, Captain Singh, I'll set some officers on tasks while I'm gone. I think this message is a good idea if its country-wide news media there, Kristen must have left the city otherwise the Flash would have found her. Anyway, I better be going." Replied Barry. Singh nodded in approval as Barry left.

Barry sped over to City Hall in quick haste, this case was important and he needed to make things move quickly to find the girl.

Barry walked through the entrance of City Hall and upstairs towards the Mayor's office. Mayor Alison Moore was a good woman, as far as Barry could tell. She was elected this year and was pro-Flash which was pleasing to Barry.

Barry walked up to the receptionist outside the Mayor's office, "I'm here to see the Mayor and Mr and Mrs White, I'm Detective Barry Allen with the CCPD."

"Yes, the Mayor is expecting you, she is currently having a private audience with Mr and Mrs White. If you will, the Mayor's chief of staff is waiting for you, to prep, in her office, just on the left." Replied the young receptionist.

Barry nodded and walked over to the Chief of Staff's office and knocked, he heard a gentle but familiar voice call "Come in!".

Barry walked in and found no one else but Thea Queen sat at the desk smiling up at him. Oliver's younger sister and superhero in her own right was a beautiful, wilful and ultimately powerful young woman and even without her costume Barry saw the hero in her.

However, what she was doing in his city, working as the Mayor's chief of staff was a total mystery to him.


	3. Chapter 3-Worlds collide

**Thea 2**

It had been a frantic first day at work so far, Thea had immediately been given a massive pile of work to sort through by the Mayor's personal assistant, as well as a missing child case which she had given the mayor some advice with.

Mayor Moore seemed like a genuine woman, wanting to do right by her city, that's why she chose to work for her. After Oli had quit the Mayor's office, Thea had been surprised to get so many offers but she supposed it wasn't a secret Thea ran everything for her brother while he was occupied with other things and many saw Oliver's success, albeit short term, to be Thea's doing.

She had turned down Washington and more politically corrupt cities for Central City, where she believed in the mayor and could lend her experience dealing with crime, with the increased crime Central City had seen due to the Meta-humans.

When she had finally got in the groove of work, there came a surprise, she heard a knock at the door, Thea presumed it would be the detective on the missing child case. When no one other than the fastest man alive Barry Allen walked through the door she was pleasantly surprised.

She took a second to observe Barry, he looked a little more downbeat than usual for some reason. The young man was a similar age to her. He was tall, well built with dark styled hair, he was a good-looking guy, she also liked his fashion sense. She had thought last time she met him it was too bad that he was seeing that Iris, she seemed her type and he was well, The Flash.

"Barry Allen! What a pleasant surprise, how are you?" She said as she moved out from behind her desk to embrace him in a friendly hug.

"Hey, Thea. What are you doing here? Working here I suppose, Yeah, I'm okay, you know, speeding along as always. I didn't know you were moving?" Barry replied in great speed, once out of the hug.

"Wow, wow, slow down Barry. We're not all as fast as you remember. Yeah, I moved here like yesterday, working as chief of staff, I had to get a new job after Ollie resigned and got the offer and here seemed a nice place to live. The city's got The Flash and his team to look after it so not much need for vigilante work you know."

Barry looked sad when she mentioned his team, he did seem different now she looked close, she'd had seen that look he had. She'd seen that look in Oliver, and even Malcolm. The look of regret and guilt.

"Yeah, it has… Well that's cool, you being here, it's good that the city has someone like you working to protect and improve it. How is Ollie? And Felicity? And Dig?" Barry asked forcing a smile.

"Thanks, yeah they are all good, we just finished dealing with Prometheus, it looked bad for a while, but me and Ollie managed to stop him before he finished his 'master plan'. John has cleared him name with the Army and he and Lyla have another child on the way, it's a girl and Dig said he wants to call it Laurel." Thea replied sitting back down behind her desk.

"That's good, I'm glad for John, he deserves it. Yeah Felicity text me saying they'd dealt with Prometheus, she said you did a bad-ass take down saving Oliver before he shot him unconscious." Barry replied, he seemed a bit calmer now they were talking about her and Ollie.

"She said that huh? Yeah I suppose, talking of Felicity she mentioned you weren't replying to her? Was everything okay with that speedster guy I saw on the news, I heard the Flash stopped him but not much details. And you're a detective now? What about geeky CSI Barry Allen?" She asked.

Suddenly Barry seemed to sink down an inch in height and the look of guilt returned.

"Yeah, we stopped him. I must have just forgot to reply to Felicity. Yeah I got a promotion, seemed like the right step, it gives me direct access to case files. Anyway we should get to work on this case, it's important, I have the case notes in my bag if you want to go through them?"

She noticed he had changed the topic fast, she'd bring it up later, she did need to get to work on this case, she needed the details so she could decide what to tell the press and any details to add to the script for the press conference with the parents.

She invited Barry to sit down and he gave her some details of the case, Kristen White, a 9-year-old girl had been last seen 3 days ago on her way back from Central City school just a few minutes from her house. Barry gave her a picture of her and told her what she was wearing that day.

"I can't believe this would happen here, I went to that school, I know her aunt. We need to get this news out to nationwide. I searched everywhere in Central City." Barry said, he seemed quite involved in the case.

"Yeah, we're putting it on live on State-wide news and it will be played every hour on national news. We better go prep the parents and the mayor. But Barry you say everywhere, but even the Flash can't search every building, house or car. If we haven't found her by tonight, I can go out and hit the streets. Use some persuasion techniques that the Flash doesn't normally use." Said Thea.

"I mean, yeah if you think so. I'll be canvasing all day so I'll let you know if find any leads." Replied Barry.

They both went through into the Mayor's office and prepped her and the parents, the way Barry was with the parents made her smile. He really was a hero, whether temporarily broken or not. He must have come off a bit soft for the mayor however.

"Detective Allen, you're new to the job I've heard. I hope you'll be going down every avenue to find Kristen, the longer we don't have any leads to more likely she is in trouble" said Mayor Moore quite commandingly.

"I might be new to the rank of detective but I'm no rookie at this Madam Mayor. I must ask if we find Kristen, and she's not alone. Do we have a shoot to kill order if necessary?" Barry asked sternly.

The Mayor nodded looking pleasantly surprised at Barry's strong answer and she then left the office to prepare for the press conference with Mr and Mrs Moore. Thea looked at Barry surprised, shoot to kill order? Barry wouldn't seriously kill before capture. Barry smiled at Thea, he must have thought all of this had flown over her, idiot.

"Barry, you better go and get on the case. I'll meet you after work in that coffee shop opposite, Jitters, is it? You can tell me about any leads before I head out tonight." Commanded Thea

"Sure, I'll see you the.." Replied Barry before Thea cut him off

"And you're going to have explain what really happened with Savitar, where the hell your team is and what you did to make you feel so guilty." Snapped Thea, he looked taken aback.

"How did you know?" asked Barry.

"You're as easy to read as Ollie. You better go, and Barry I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" He asked despondently. She began to leave the Mayor's office before turning and replying.

"Iris."


	4. Chapter 4-How she died

**Barry 2**

 **Won't lie, this is quite a graphic chapter, nothing too bad but a bit disturbing. Barry explains what happened with Savitar. I decided to take a dark route with the story because it interests me how the Flash would deal with true darkness, not just a bit of anger but actual rage.**

Barry Allen hated taking things slow, he spent the afternoon working with Detective August Heart and the new CSI Meena Dhawan so he had to work and canvas the city at a normal pace. He appreciated the help however, Detective Heart was a similar age to Barry and he thought they would get along with time.

Meena was brilliant, she seemed to be shy genius, she was also very attractive and if he wasn't getting over Iris he might ask her out, but she was way out of his league most likely. Detective Heart had been flirting with her and she just passed him off brilliantly. She was a more than adequate replacement for him as CSI.

They had failed to come up with much results with the Kristen case, they had scanned through all CCTV at local train stations and airports. They had also checked traffic cams going out of the city and came up with nothing but it was likely she would have been in the back or boot of a car if she was abducted. Barry had gone down so many avenues of possibility and found little.

He had seen the press conference, the mother seemed so upset and distraught, Mr White looked more worried and anxious than upset, that was understandable Barry supposed.

It was 6 pm now so he guessed he should go meet Thea at Jitters like he promised. He had mixed feelings about her being in Central. He was glad to have a familiar face but he didn't really want to face the difficult questions and honestly, he didn't want Ollie's sister to think bad of him. She did seem quite intuitive earlier, like she knew what he was going through.

Barry arrived at Jitters and walked in, he spotted Thea in the corner doing some work, she signalled over to him, as he walked over he had to admit she looked pretty fine, he had always though her gorgeous but she was always off limits. Even with his powers he would fear the wrath of big brother Oliver. He wouldn't forget the time Ollie shot him.

"Hey, Thea. How's it going?" Barry asked pleasantly

"Don't play all cool with me Barry Allen, I saw how you were earlier. I got you a Coffee, seems like you need it, it's one Brew, One espresso. Now tell me what's wrong." Said Thea, she seemed like she wanted to help him but Barry didn't really want to talk about it.

"Thanks, it's called a Flash you know. The Coffee…" Barry said before being sharply interrupted.

"Don't change the subject!" Snapped Thea.

"Fine, I'm sorry Thea. I just haven't really spoken to anyone about what happened. It's hard. The things I did. Who I lost." Barry replied.

"I know Barry. Trust me I've been through stuff. Not just losing my Mom or my boyfriend Alex. But some of things I did when I was speedy, it eats at me every day. I scarred a guy's face to the point he nearly died. I've killed nearly a dozen people. I never thought I would have to say that in my life. I threatened to kill Damien's Dhark's 11-year-old daughter, and I wasn't bluffing. I tried to run away from it, move on and that doesn't work. Only when I accepted what I did and tried to do my penance working for the city as Ollie's chief of staff and helping when necessary with Prometheus, sure it still is there in my mind but I know that no matter how much grief and guilt I feel, I am better served moving on and trying to make up for it. Now come on, you can talk to me Barry." Said Thea.

Barry knew she was speaking from the heart, he hadn't known too much of this. It didn't make him feel better, which I'm sure Thea didn't intend but it made him want to share.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, where do I start?" Barry asked nonchalantly.

"Start at what happened with Iris." Thea replied reassuringly.

"Well, we'd tracked down Savitar, it was my idea for all of us with abilities to go out for the attack. Me, Wally, Jesse and Cisco. And Joe and the police had the perimeter. Leaving only Iris and Wells at Star Labs. Savitar knew who we all were, I should have thought about it but… So we attacked, Savitar slammed down Wally, Jesse and Cisco were fighting his followers and Alchemy. Then Savitar got the slip on me, punched me and sped off. I was confused, didn't know where he was going, so I looked about, helped Jesse with Alchemy. Then I heard screams through the comms…"

Thea was listening sympathetically, she noticed his pause, she gently held his shaking hands.

"I… I ran back to Star Labs, I found Wells on the floor, knocked out badly. And he was there, with Iris, he had her held up by her neck. I tried to talk to him, it was so much like with my Dad and Zoom, but Iris she was afraid, so afraid... She kept saying my name. 'Barry' 'Barry' 'Please'." Barry started lightly crying, Thea looked as if she was going to motion him to stop if he wanted but he continued.

"He didn't just kill her. He tore her to bits, limb by…. I can still see it now. I try to block it out of my mind but I can't, her last words were "Barry please help". And all I could do was watch, watch as he killed the woman I love. It was my fault, I left no protection for her. I changed the timeline and created Savitar. Iris is dead because of me. I was so angry. Savitar fled the scene quickly. The others got there, no one spoke. Wally was unconscious, Jesse and cisco both threw up when they saw. Joe, well Joe… He broke down. Couldn't stand, say anything, do anything."

"Barry, that's horrific. I'm so sorry. I didn't realise. You can stop now if you want, I didn't know the extent." Thea said looking distraught, with tears forming in her eyes.

Fighting back is own tears, Barry said "No, I'll finish. I feel like this will help. Saying it. I haven't told anyone yet."

"So, looking back I don't understand why I wasn't upset. I didn't feel sadness, not a tinge of it. It was just rage, pure rage. Jesse, she saw it, she saw it in my eyes, before I left she whispered "Don't". I think she knew what I was going to do. I mean not just go after him but everything else. I ran back to find him and his followers chanting and even celebrating, they thought they had defeated the Flash. That they had stopped the hero. And they had. I was no longer a hero from that point onwards." Barry paused and thought back visually to that day, that hour, that minute.

"I saw the look in their eyes, content. I wanted to remove that look, from all of them. You know with the powers I have, it can appear that I'm rushing through everything, being carefree. But really every Nano-second I'm holding back, every part of my body can be used as a weapon, I did use them as a weapon. I didn't hold back. I killed all of them. All 9 of them. He called them his 9 disciples. The god of speed he called himself. And I was the devil. I saw for the first time his facial expression change. But it wasn't in fear or surprise, it was a smile. He had created me. What Zoom failed to do. He had made me like him. So then we fought and I won. I still don't know what happened, something took over me, maybe the evil side of the speed force, maybe rage but all I remember is standing over his corpse." Barry's tears had stopped and all he felt was shame.

"Barry, I..I…" Said Thea, looking shocked and upset.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm a murderer, I should be in jail. But I…"

"No, I wasn't going to say that. Barry, you don't deserve to be in jail. Don't tell yourself that. Do you think that you'd do any good there? You can do good as the Flash. You're human Barry, don't forget that. Everyone gets enraged when they lose someone close to them, and I know you'd say not many would kill in that rage. But you're not everyone you have these powers, and like you say you always hold them back, and you didn't for one time. It was a mistake, everyone makes them." Thea said trying to console him.

"It wasn't a mistake. That's the thing. I don't regret killing him. Maybe the others but they were despicable human beings as well. That's why I feel so revolting. I feel shame and guilt but more for letting Iris die than killing 10 people. That's what keeps me up all night."

"And what happened after, did everyone see what you did?" Asked Thea

"Yeah, they had cctv on the location. They watched it on screen, they were yelling at me to stop but I turned my comms off. Afterwards I went off somewhere, came back a few hours later. You know, I could deal with the reactions of Wally, Jesse, Wells even Cisco but Joe. I'll never forgot the look in his eye, it was like he had lost two kids at the same time."

"So, they all left after that, I can't believe they would do that to you." Said Thea.

"I can understand, with Cisco he was getting tired of it all here. He was still angry at me for flashpoint and Dante and he said he couldn't recognize me anymore. He went off with the Legends, Ray offered to kinda swap and come and help me but I couldn't really face having someone positive around when I was feeling… well like this." Said Barry.

"Yeah, I used to get like that with Felicity. After I made a mistake or was in a bad place mentally I couldn't stand her positivity. Sometimes other people who aren't in the position we're in, they don't see the choices we have to make. I love them to bits but Felicity, Curtis, Ray maybe even Cisco they see the fun in this life. They see cool tech, funny nicknames to hide the fact the people we face are psychopathic killers and they are at the other end of the comms or behind armoured suits when we they're in the flesh, we have to decide who to save, whether to kill or not and they don't have to live with those decisions." Explained Thea.

Barry understood that, he saw what she meant. He wanted to shout something similar at Cisco, Caitlin and Wells sometimes. Thea asked about the others.

"Wally was distraught as expected, he loved Iris. She was so protective of him. I tried to talk to him but he blamed me for her death. Jesse and Harry were there for him when Joe couldn't be, he and Jesse have always liked each other and I think he felt there wasn't much for him here so he decided to go to Earth-2 with Jesse, at least for a while. Joe was a mess, he was completely devastated. He couldn't operate and I suppose he just couldn't stand being near anything that reminded him of what happened; his job, star labs, the house, me… Harry was his only friend in all of the grief and he wanted to protect his other child, Wally, so he went to Earth-2 as well. I hope he's okay, he left me a letter explaining everything but I still feel like I disappointed him. I lost everyone, and it started because I felt like I had lost everything with my parents but now I truly realise what losing everyone is like. So yeah, I'm on my own now."

Thea had taken all of this in and seemed not to hate him or think he was in the wrong, this seemed to make her look at him differently, she seemed to look at him less as a cool superhero as she had before and more as a puzzle to put back together or something broken to mend. He never had the chance to properly talk to or think about Thea when he had met her previously and right now he realised how beautiful she was.

"Not anymore you're not." She replied thoughtfully.

 **Sorry if you thought that chapter went a bit deep and was a bit too much monologue. I just wanted to show Barry's mindset heading into this story, I feel this is something which could happen in the Flash but won't because of the light-hearted nature of the show. Even a good man can break in anger and I think Thea, someone who has been through similar is the perfect person to help Barry understand the perfect middle between light and dark.**


	5. Chapter 5-Hitting the streets

**Thea 3;**

Thea stalked the roof's and back alleys of Central City in her speedy costume keeping her head in a swivel as Oliver taught her. She had been at it for 2 hours now and had small lead, Barry was also racing around in his costume but she couldn't keep up with where he was.

He had really spilled his heart out to her earlier and she felt so sorry for him, losing someone in such a horrific way. Thea had originally thought she would stay out of Team Flash's way while here but with Barry alone and with no one to keep him in check, she had decided she would try and be there for him as Laurel, Dig and Oli had been there for her when she was struggling with dark thoughts and anger.

She had seen his surprised look through his Flash mask when he saw Thea pretty much beating the shit out of a street criminal, she had beaten him until he gave up the name of a criminal who ran people trafficking in the city.

As they had walked away and Thea began a pleasant conversation Barry asked "How do you switch it on and off like that? The darkness, anger…".

"I suppose time and practise, Ollie used to tell me to imagine myself as two people, I'm Speedy when having to gain information or play dirty, and I'm Thea the rest of the time. It's horrible to do but sometimes it's necessary, you wouldn't have got that lead with your scientific methods, would you?" Replied Thea

Barry had just grimly nodded in agreement. Now she was on her way to the docks, Barry had said he's meet her there. She was getting impatient with all this walking about, she'd have to get a bike if she was to carry on with this here.

She headed over to the docks where this human trafficker was supposed to have his operation, suddenly a heavy wind zoomed past her and she saw The Flash, looking at her.

"Hey, Flash. You ready for this? We get past his guards then ask him a few questions, I doubt he'll be the one but he might know someone in town interested in children." Said Thea.

"Yeah sounds good. I can't believe this goes on in Central City, the idea that anyone would use a child for… It's unbearable to think about." Said Barry, sounding disconcerted.

They walked over to just outside a warehouse near dock 31 where the guy was supposed to be based. "Yeah, it's disgusting. Right you ready?"

Barry nodded and she began running to the entrance of the docks where a bodyguard stood, he saw her running over but before he could raise his gun The Flash ran up to him and knocked him out. Thea signalled for Barry to wait and follow her in, Thea entered to see a open warehouse with two shipping containers and some desks with men working.

A man appeared from the left shouting and raised his gun, Thea shot him with a arrow in the leg. As she did it she saw Barry speeding over to take out the rest of the men. Thea ran over to join him and when she got there all the men but one were knocked out or handcuffed.

The one man left was a slightly fat well-dressed man with a golden watch and very shiny shoes, obviously the leader of this crew.

"We're shutting you down. Human trafficking in this city is finished. Tell us where the girl is! Where is Kristen?!" Thea shouted in her tough vigilante voice. She had an arrow pointed at him while she said it.

"What? Who's Kristen? We haven't taken any kids for weeks, we've been doing drugs since the Flash started killing." Replied the man.

Thea walked up to him, but Barry got there first and held him from running away. Thea grabbed an arrow from her quiver and stuck it through his foot. He screamed out so loud the rest of the docks would hear it.

"Don't lie to me! The next arrow goes in your balls. Tell me about the girl." Shouted Thea.

"I swear I didn't take her. I don't know shit." He replied frantically.

"You know guys in the trade, you sell right? You know anyone interested in 9-year-old girls, anyone desperate enough to take one? Tell me anything you know!" Said Thea while punching him in the face. Barry looked a bit concerned on how far Thea would go with this.

"Okay okay! I know a guy. Word has it he just came to town. He's known as the snatcher. He has taken girls of that age in every city from Bludhaven to Coast City. He does whatever he does with them and then sells them to people like me. I never dealt with him but a buddy of mine did, says he bat crazy shit. Does experiments on them. That's all I know." Said the guy, still frightened.

"Where might this guy be?" Barry asked.

"I don't know! I swear." He replied.

Barry looked at Thea and said "Think that's all he knows. Let's go!"

Thea noticed once he said that the man managed a faint smile, he must have thought she'd miss it. She got an arrow from her quiver and forcefully stuck it into the man's crouch.

"Aaargghhh! You fucking bitch!" Shouted the man.

"Speedy! What did you do that for?" Barry loudly asked.

"Tell me the truth! You know where he is! The next one goes in your eyes, you know I'm not lying now. Where is he?!" Thea replied impatiently

"Fine. Fucking hell arrgh. You crazy bitch. He used my network, I hooked him up with a place."

"More than a place right? You hooked him up with children. He snatched Kristen, that must have pissed you off right? You were selling him kids, details now! Where is he? How many children does he have?" Thea implied. She then nocked an arrow and point to shoot at him.

"Yes! Fine I did, don't shoot. I sold him some kids I got through the harbour from China, Vietnam and places. Most of them were around 8 or 9. Most were girls. One was a bit older, 16 maybe. I'm sorry. Don't shoot. He's a safe house, either 76 Plymouth Drive or Dock 46. He has been using more I think. He might be out at night, I know he'll be at 76 Plymouth in the day tomorrow. He told me to bring him more for tomorrow. I said I couldn't I swear. Please don't shoot me." He pleaded with her.

"You are a worthless piece shit." Thea said lowering her bow.

But suddenly Barry let go of him and started beating him, there was an anger in his eyes. Barry was punching with so much velocity it was moving the guy a few metres each time. The guy was screaming at first but soon became unconscious. Barry was hitting as hard as he could. He was breaking bones.

"Barry, stop! Stop, we'll arrest him. Please stop. Iris wouldn't want this."

Barry came to a halt, he was panting and trying to contain his pure anger. He looked at her feeling guilty.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I just felt that anger again."

"It's fine Barry. We better go, you should get changed and call for backup to pick up these felons before they wake up, say the Flash apprehended them." Thea said reassuringly.

"Yeah, you're right. What about this Snatcher? Do we go tomorrow day like he said?"

"I'd say yeah. You should go with the police, bring paramedics with you. I think Detective Allen deserves a win. I'll see if the mayor will let me oversee the raid from a van or something."

Barry nodded in agreement. He then suddenly picked her up and sped through the city at blistering pace. He dropped her off in alleyway, she noticed her hotel across the street.

"Thanks for your help Thea. I'll see you tomorrow." Said Barry.

"It's fine. Yeah sure, hey we can talk about what happened tonight whenever you want."

Barry smiled then sped off into the night.

She found the garbage can where she has hidden her bag, she got changed where no one was looking. Charms of the job, getting changed near the rubbish bins. She then walked back over to the hotel.

As she walked through reception, the women at the desk smiled at her and said "Good night? Must have been a late one?"

Thea looked up at the clock, it was 3 am. God she needed to get a place, a hotel was too public. She just smiled and nodded the woman and went into the lift.

She had to admit, even though it was dealing with a horrid case she was enjoying getting out as Speedy on her own, well with Barry but it felt like she was free. Oli would always be protective, even when he knew she could kick his ass in a sword fight.

She went into her hotel room and got ready for sleep, tomorrow would be a busy day, she would need to convince Mayor Moore she should go on the police raid.


	6. Chapter 6-The Horror of Central City

**Chapter 6**

 **Again, this Chapter does contain some disturbing imagery and adult themes. Sorry.**

 **Barry 3**

"Allen, you're telling me that one of the perps the Flash took out last night gave up the location of a guy who has not only Kristen but multiple children her age? And he's running experiments on them?" Said Captain Singh.

"Yeah, it's horrible but the Flash seems to think it's true, the location is 76 Plymouth Drive. He's supposed to be there. I ran profile on this guy, the Snatcher, he's not deemed armed or dangerous but rather sneaky and cunning. If he's in there we can pin him down and rescue the children."

"Yes. Good Allen. I'll arrange a SWOT, you and I will run it. Let's say 3 hours, so 1pm. In the meantime, get Detective Heart and CSI Dhawan and study the CCTV from the area of the house and any other leads we need look down before the strike. Good work Allen." Commanded Captain Singh, looking proud of him.

"Thanks Captain Singh. I'll get on that now."

Barry left Singh's office and grabbed Detective August to head up the CSI lab, he was happy this case was close to being solved and he was doing this as Barry Allen not the Flash. He relied on his alter-ego too much which was halting his law enforcement career.

He walked up into the lab with August behind him, he sensed Detective Heart's annoyance than Barry arrested those guys last night without him. He wasn't the brooding type but they were supposed to be partners to an extent, Barry would have to include him more.

They entered the lab and Meena was at her desk doing some forensic testing, she looked up at them.

"The conquering hero returns. Barry Allen, you're the talk of the station. Everyone is saying you're a white knight cop. I'd just say you know the Flash and are clearing up his messes." Meena said, looking intriguingly at Barry.

"Messes? Yeah I heard something was going down at the docks and investigated, the Flash was there, gave me the info I needed. Just doing my job Meena." Replied Barry.

"Yeah, he left one of the crooks in a right mess, broken skull and collar bone. Yeah sure Barry, you know you should introduce me to him sometime. He's enjoys taking his anger out on criminals, like my ex-boyfriend in that respect, he's probably my type." Meena said sarcastically.

"Ex-boyfriend? So you date cops?" Said August.

"Not anymore Heart. Dream on." Replied Meena.

Barry laughed at the situation, he enjoyed her sass at people when it wasn't directed at him.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" asked Meena.

"Captain wants us to check CCTV of the area near the house and do some more digging before the strike at 1pm. I guess he figured you could do with my help." Barry said, in a teasing manner.

"Not likely Allen. We might as well get on with. Come on August do keep up, let's see if you're more than a pretty face." Said Meena.

August and Meena argued about their education and knowledge of crime work for the next hour or so. Barry was slowly wondering whether there was something between them no matter how much she teased him. He was considered good looking by most, Linda Park had asked for his number recently.

At about midday while they were working on the profiling of the Snatcher, suddenly Thea walked through into the Lab, she was wearing professional clothes and high heels, she looked great he had to say. She was holding two coffees and looked surprised there were people other than Barry there.

"Hey Barry, I erm brought you a coffee. Your captain gave permission to come on the raid representing the mayor. Are you going to introduce me?" She said looking at Meena and August.

"Hey, thanks. Yeah of course, Thea this is CSI Meena Dhawan and Detective August Heart, guys this is the mayor's chief of staff Thea Qu.." Said Barry before being interrupted by August.

"Thea Queen. Nice to meet you, I'm August. I thought chief of staff's were bald old men normally, not someone like you..." He said looking Thea up and down slightly in awe.

"Christ August. Do you ever stop flirting?! Hi Thea, nice to meet you" Said Meena smiling at Thea. Thea looked slightly amused at the situation.

"Hi, nice to meet you both. Just out of interest what kind of name is August?" Thea said jokingly

"Ha!" Interluded Meena.

Barry took the coffee from Thea, saying thanks, they then caught her up with the case. He noticed that Thea and Meena were getting along quite well, they were similar in ways.

At one point when Barry and Thea were going through the case quite quickly and knowingly Meena asked "How do you guys know each other so well then?"

Thea looked panicked at the question, Barry tried to think of a response.

"Well, I know Thea's brother Oliver and friend Felicity and we just have seen each other at gatherings of sort." Said Barry, Thea nodding at his answer.

"Okay cool, you just seem to good at this kind of thing, it's like you've dealt with criminals together before." Meena said, looking interested.

"Well, we're just naturally a good team. Right Barry?" Said Thea.

He nodded and they continued to prepare for the raid.

Later, the 4 of them went downstairs and outside to the vans, getting ready for the raid. They met up with Captain Singh and the SWOT team, left Meena behind and set off for to Plymouth Drive.

 **Thea 4**

Thea rode in the back of a police van with Barry, Detective Heart and Captain Singh, along with a couple of the SWOT team, the rest being in a van behind them. Detective Heart was looking at her smiling, she gave him a sarcastic smile and went back to her thoughts.

Heart was the type of cocky first time cop she had dealt with in Star City, they were the type to get killed, she hated saying it but Billy was one of them, thinking they could solve cases alone, thinking police work involved flirting with women and beating guys up. But, Barry would teach him well she was sure, and what they were about to find in this house would may change his outlook.

She looked about the silent van, Captain Singh had initiated the silence. Thea knew Captain Singh wasn't best pleased with her coming but a Mayor's order was final. The van began to slow and come to a halt. Captain Singh suddenly got a call on his cell.

The Captain left the van out of the back to take the call, the SWOT began getting ready, Barry called Thea over to the corner.

"Hey, you sure we shouldn't have done this at night, you know as Flash and Speedy?"

"No, we knew he'd be here now and I don't think he'll be a threat the police can't deal with. The ambulances will be here 2 mins after we begin the op. It's the right thing to do Barry." She replied.

Barry nodded and began ordering the SWOT team to be ready for the captain's orders. Then Captain Singh came back into the van with a very worried look on his face.

"Allen, Heart, Miss Queen. I'm sorry but I have to go, it's a family emergency, my Husband's mother is seriously ill." Said Captain Singh.

"I'm so sorry Captain. Of course, you should go, we can re-arrange the op, I can reach out to the Flash." Said Barry sympathetically.

"No Allen. We need to do this op right now. You take command Allen. Play it by the book. SWOT goes in, sweeps the house, takes the suspect into custody. Got it?"

"Yes Captain." Replied Barry.

As the Captain left she saw Barry's look change into a more hardened cop, he was trying to show his men he was a true detective not just a weak CSI.

Barry picked up the radio and addressed the men in his van "Okay men. I'm taking command of the op, search and obtain. Enter the house through the front and back doors and search the house, including the basement for the suspect, capture him and ensure the safety of the children. On my command…. GO!"

The men rushed out of the house and Barry, August and herself sat down in the van bringing up live feed from one of the men's helmet. She knew Barry wanted to use his powers and go in but this would be good for him, he needed to learn how to do this kind of thing if he wanted to be a detective.

They watched as the men got in position at the two exits, Barry gave the command for them to enter. Thea saw the men entering the house, it seemed like a normal house, the two feeds on the screen showed a normal kitchen and a normal living room. They both converged at the entrance to the basement.

As they walked down Thea began to get a feeling of dread, a creek at her throat as well. The man they were using to watch the raid got the bottom of the stairs, he turned around and looked at a horror show.

There was barely visible light down in the basement but she saw children sat on the floor or lying down or strapped to chairs. She lost track with the talking between Barry and the men, she lost track of everything.

She was concentrated on the sights she saw on the monitor, these kids looked starved, beaten and experimented on, one small girl was screaming out, she had lost a leg it seemed. She just stared at the images, she didn't know how long for but she felt sick.

Suddenly she felt a hand touching hers, it was Barry. "Thea, can you hear me? I said are you coming? We're going down to help the kids, the suspect has fled."

She just nodded and got up, following him into the house. They walked through, she still in horror. She walked down the basement stairs and into the horror show. The men had lit the room up with torches and what looked like a fireplace.

She had seen some twisted shit in her time as Speedy and she had seen her mother die in front of her but this was the most horrific thing she had ever seen. There were about 15 kids, mostly Chinese in origin, in the basement in pain and fear. Some were experimented on, others beaten, all frighten for their lives.

She drew her eyes to the right-hand corner, the girl who had been screaming, she was missing a leg, it was cut right off, she was now unconscious but she looked beaten and worn down. She looked just next to the girl and found a little boy who it seemed was missing a nose and ears. She started shedding tears, August next to her went upstairs suddenly and she heard him vomiting.

She saw Barry next to her, he looked shook and upset. He conversed with a cop then he slowly walked upstairs, she noticed the tears dripping down his face. She wanted to go with him but she stayed.

She spent the next five minutes trying to help but she felt unable to do anything right now. The paramedics arrived and started taking the kids to the hospital. She found Kristen in the left corner of the room. She was clutching her knees and rocking back and forth. She looked unharmed but scared.

Thea held her hand and said "Kristen, it's okay. You're safe now. I'm Thea, I'm here to take you back to your parents. Everything's going to be okay now."

Kirsten squeezed Thea's hand tight and looked up she said "He took her. He took the nice girl. She was pretty, she was nice to me, she spoke English. She was older than everyone else, please help her."

Thea realised she meant the older girl that the guy at the docks mentioned, he must have realised what was happening and taken the older girl and fled. She continued to comfort Kirsten until a medic turned up and took her.

Thea slowly walked upstairs and out of the house. She took in the air from outside like it was heavenly, she tried to steady herself. She noticed Barry stood next to one the ambulances. She walked over, turning into more of a run and she dove into a deep hug with him. She needed someone to hold her after what she had seen, it seemed he was the same.

Still in the hug she said "We need to find him. We need to find that son of a bitch and kill him."

Barry whispered in her ear and said "We will. Together."


	7. Chapter 7-Takes more than the Flash

**Chapter 7**

 **Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been really busy but I'm back for now. Sorry if you feel I rushed this storyline and left out some details but I wanted to move onto some new, light hearted storylines.**

 **Mei**

Mei sat quietly in the small abandoned warehouse, attempting to both keep her calm and figure out why she was here. She had been one of many of the children taken by this psychopathic monster of a man but she was the only one he had taken with him here.

She figured that he must know he was close to being caught, but why her? She was the only one he hadn't shown any interest in experimenting on, he wasn't a man of sexual orientation. He was a scientist, a sick son of a bitch scientist who took blood samples, pieces of skin and even limbs from kids.

She had a theory that he had taken her as a hostage not a child to be experimented upon. Because she was possibly the only one who was strong enough to travel, he had wanted to tke the American girl; Kirsten. But she put up a bit of a fight and Mei promised she would go quietly if he left Kirsten.

This predictiment she was in was horrible, it truly was but she had become almost numb to pain, loss and horror. She had grown up in Japan with her loving parents but they were killed when she was 11 and moved to Beijing to live with a relative, from there everything that could go wrong went wrong.

She had no idea why he did what he did but she knew that he must have a boss or client because he was constantly on the phone in hushed tones. Ever since she was sold to him from the docks of Central City she hadn't said a word to the man or attempted to escape, she knew it would be futile. She had tried to help the kids as much as she could but all the help she could give was verbal reassurance.

Today had been the only time she saw the man panicked, and she knew that panicked men made mistakes. He did exactly that, he hadn't tied her restraints effectively and she had managed to swipe one of his mobile phones when they arrived at this warehouse.

The man had dumped her in the corner of the warehouse while he tried to set up some of his sick experiments in the other corner, she waited for him to go outside and then made her move.

Mei quickly dialled the police and thanked god that she could speak English, the number ran through and she heard "Central City police, how can I help you?"

"Hi, please help me. I've been abducted by a man, he had been experimenting on kids, I think he's using me as hostage. I didn't see exactly where he took me but it's a small warehouse with boxes saying Roxton Corporation on them. Please he- "

She was cut off by the sound of the man walking back in and she quickly hung up the call and sneaked the phone back behind her. He couldn't have any warning, what she told the police should be enough, please let it be enough. Please someone save me.

 **Thea 5**

The moment the call had come in the CCPD had begun mobilising but as soon as the location was set Thea had immediately walked out of the station and went to find where she had hidden her bag. She wasn't waiting for protocol, hell she wasn't waiting for Barry if he had to deal with that.

At thought of Barry, her phone rang. She picked up "Thea, where are you?" Barry Allen's alert voice said.

"Barry, I need to go now. I'm not waiting for protocol or any of that crap. I'm going to the warehouse and I'm going to kill him and rescue the girl."

"I can't come. I'm leading the operation. I knew taking this role would affect me being the Flash. Thea just wait, let the CCPD deal with this."

"Barry screw the damn CCPD. We said we'd do this together. That frightened girl needs the flash. If the CCPD goes he'll use her as a hostage, the Flash can run in and get her before this cunt could blink."

"I can't Thea. I have a job, they might know if I leave now and the Flash saves the day."

"Fine Barry. You lead your op, I'll just beat you to it."

Thea hung up the phone, while she had been talking she reached the back alley where she had placed her bag earlier after the raid on the house. All the children were in hospital and getting looked after but there remained one more child in need.

After she had changed into her Speedy costume and grabbed her bow she began down the street. It was getting dark now but she would still be clearly seen by people. She also needed a mode of transport, she would have to steal a bike.

After 10 minutes of moving around in the shadows and side streets she still hadn't found a bike to steal. She began thinking of just running there but suddenly without a second of warning she was swept of her feet and the world was moving at astronomical pace.

She averted her glance up and saw the Flash, Barry Allen was carrying her and speeding off towards the warehouse. She looked at him questioningly, but she presumed he wouldn't be able to tell.

"Captain Singh was deliberating over what to do, how to approach it and it was taking too long. You were right. I said I was going to check CCTV of the area, so I don't have long." Barry said rapidly.

They suddenly came to an abrupt stop and Thea gathered her surroundings and saw a small warehouse across the street, they both ducked for cover and she replied "We'll make it fast then. You speed in grab the girl and I'll deal with the Snatcher."

Barry nodded and they began walking towards the warehouse, it had one door at this side and it was padlocked heavily. Barry ran over to it and snapped the lock immediately. She ran over to his side as he nodded at her and went to open the door.

As he opened the door he was immediately pounced upon by a thin man in a long grey coat with a syringe in his hand. Sure, Barry was the fastest man alive but this man had begun his attack before the door had been opened, he just about managed to inject Barry with a serum of some kind.

Barry tried to move forward with his super speed but he appeared to freeze in mid-air. It was anti-speedster serum, this guy had resources for sure. She reacted by drawing an arrow but before she could fire the man threw something in the air and a cloud of smoke injected the air around her.

She heard the man running back into the warehouse and she started to cough, she could feel unconscious trying to reach her but she was determined not to pass out. She backed out away from the smoke and tried to regain composure. She felt the chemicals in her system but she was trained for this, she had been through this and worse so she was able to fight on.

She ran up and checked on Barry, he was crouching on the floor in pain. She whispered "Go back to CCPD. I've got this. Do it Barry."

He didn't respond, clearly in a state of pain and shock with this unknown serum flowing through his system. She ran through the door and heard screams from within.

As she entered the room she saw exactly what she expected to see. The man appeared clearer now, he was in his mid-50's and looked both a scientist and a creep at the same time. He had a Japanese young girl in his grasp with a small pistol pointing at her head.

"Drop the fucking gun or I'll show you exactly how many arrows a human can have through their body without dying. Right fucking now, you creep." Thea shouted.

The girl looked scared but she not as scarred as Thea had thought. The man smirked at her threats and said simply "Don't posture girl. Drop the bow. Leave this warehouse and let me take my leave. Or else the girl dies."

Thea didn't see what she could do really, she thought she would test his nerve. She began to lower her bow, but as she did the girl flicked her elbow at the man and then back kicked him in the thigh, the gun suddenly was pointed away from the girl's head. Thea didn't miss the chance.

One, two, three arrows fired from her bow quicker than they ever had before and the man shuddered back and fell with a thump. It was over. The man was dead.

She approached the girl, she looked relieved but still broken. Thea went to hold her and reassure her, but the girl pulled back instinctively.

Thea reached and removed her mask and pulled down her hood and spoke softly "It's okay now. He's gone. You're safe. My name's Thea, what's yours?"

The girl managed a minute smile and spoke "It's Mei." She then fell into Thea's arms.


	8. Chapter 8-Intrigue and Adventure

**Chapter 8**

 **So, I have to apologise for not updating in, well forever. I have been distracted with work and other projects, and put this story in the back of my mind. But recently I saw a review recently asking for more and after thinking about it I've decided I'll continue this slowly and see where I can take it.**

 **Barry POV**

Finishing the report of the Snatcher case came with both a sense of relief and regret. It had been 2 days since 'an Archery vigilante' had killed the snatcher and all but one of the children were home or on their way to an orphanage.

The oldest of the children; Mei was still in Central City hospital and Thea had been visiting her whenever she wasn't working or asleep it sounded like. Barry was happy Thea had managed to save the girl after he had been left without his speed, but he couldn't help feeling that if he had been more careful they would have either got the man in custody or at least found out more about his operation and any potential boss or client he had.

But he had learned not to dwell on finished cases from Joe a long time ago and he was back into his usual routine. He was in his office checking some smaller cases he had passed over during the Snatcher crisis.

It was drawing close to the end of the day and he had plans with Thea. He couldn't really explain it, but he felt like he was regaining something in his life, being able to talk about things to someone who knew he was the Flash.

The way Thea reassured him reminded him of Caitlin, she was still in the wind, Killer Frost sightings were minimal, but he knew now Caitlin was gone, at least for now. He figured he couldn't possibly rescue Caitlin from the darkness until he himself found the light.

About 30 minutes later he left the CCPD and headed over to the address Thea had texted him, he promised to go with her for viewings of apartments, they visited 2 last night and Thea decided that they were too publicly placed if she was to continue her exploits as Speedy.

It seemed she had gone from 'planning to help out when necessary' to wanting to be his unofficial partner in crime. She had got Felicity to send over some equipment to her; a motor bike, spare bows, training weapons, arrows and her Sword.

He strolled out of the station and made his way towards a little blind spot in the street where he could set off running without anyone seeing. He took 3 slow steps before suddenly speeding off into the distance, 13 ultrafast seconds later he arrived on the street where Thea had told him to come to.

He spotted her outside a large 2 floor condo, standing alone with no houses near-by. He thought to himself that Thea must still have some of the Queen millions if she could afford a place like this.

She spotted him and began walking over, she was wearing a long brown coat and had her hair up, she had her usual look of confidence and just sheer knowingness. He had to admit he found her to be brilliant and couldn't help but compare her to Iris.

"Hey Barry, first impressions?" Thea asked shrugging towards the house, she looked quite pleased with herself.

"First impressions are; how the hell can you afford this?" Barry asked mockingly.

"Well, each floor is its own apartment and my wage isn't exactly small. And went I told Oli about my plans to set up shop here as Speedy he put some Arrow funds in my account. This place is perfect, the kitchen and living space and my bedroom in the front bit then a large empty room in the back-ground floor where I can train."

"Looks like you've already decided, why am I here?" Barry asked.

"Well I can always use a second opinion and actually I had an idea." Thea replied, her expression becoming more serious.

"Ah, what idea might that be?" Barry enquired questioningly.

"Well as I said Oli leant me some money and I can actually afford the whole building and there's a large studio flat upstairs and I think you should take it, you can pay me rent if you want to insist on paying as all 'macho guys' do but you should take it." Thea told him in both a confident and awkward manner.

"I have an apartment." Barry replied slowly.

"I know Barry, but you hate it, you're miserable there." Thea replied softly.

Barry was a bit taken aback by this, how could she know he hated living somewhere that reminded him of Iris.

"I'll have no arguments, come check out the studio flat and if you like it you're moving in, there's even space to set up a mini lab there, also the other thing I didn't mention is that there happens to be a basement which is going to get the Felicity + Curtis treatment, new base of team Splash." Thea stated.

"Splash? That is awful Thea" Barry groaned sarcastically.

"Oh, come on! I'm not working with much here am I?" Thea replied in a humour tone.

"That's because you decided to stick with Speedy as a superhero name" Barry replied smiling.

They continued joking while they walked into the apartment, Thea's small living and sleep space looked quite threadbare but the size of her "Training Room" seemed to please her no end, they walked round to the stairs at the back of the property and climbed up to the studio flat she wanted him to move into, Barry thought he heard building work near-by but wasn't sure.

They checked out his studio flat and he did like it, of course. He was slowly learning that Thea took a lot of thought in everything she did.

"Come on Allen. Admit it, you like the flat." Thea stated.

It was a nice open space with a small kitchen area and a breakfast bar then a double bed in the far corner with furniture around.

"I do but you know a Police Detective and the Mayor's Chief of Staff living together might raise some questions" Barry said meaning it to be a joke.

"A out of depth police officer renting from a successful strong political operative should raise no questions I think, and this is purely plutonic Scarlet Speedster, don't go getting any ideas anyway you know Oliver would kill you" Thea replied teasingly and very much in a manner which showed she wasn't dismissing him.

"Slowly…" She added just before he started talking.

"I know" Barry said laughing. "Okay, I'll take it, you were right, my current place makes me miserable, I see Iris and Joe everywhere in it. What's the next step, when can we move in?" Barry asked.

"Whenever you like, I already bought the building. Can't you hear the work being done on the basement, it's been set up for our suits and some tech, it's only small but will be secure." Thea replied casually.

Barry just laughed and shook his head.

He later returned to pack up his stuff from his old apartment in time to move the next day and realised that his constant thoughts of Iris and her death were not gone but ever so slightly decaying within his mind, the intrigue and adventure of Thea Queen was populating his thoughts more and more.

 **Bit of a Small unimportant chapter to get myself back into the swing of things, will be moving into more crime based stories again soon.**


End file.
